


Show Me The Way

by Bittodeath



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anidala, Background Relationships, Chance Meetings, Family Feels, Fix-It, Gen, Happy Ending, Mentor/Protégé, Minor Obi-Wan Kenobi/Satine Kryze, That's Not How The Force Works, The Force, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:46:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23707099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bittodeath/pseuds/Bittodeath
Summary: When Kylo Ren asks his grand-father, Darth Vader, for guidance, he didn't expect to actually receive it - albeit in the form of one very confused, freshly Knighted Anakin Skylwaker.And while he only sees Vader and his unfamous suit and mask, Anakin is left to wonder why the kriff the Force wants him to help this boy who apparently intends to ask a Sith Lord for guidance.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ben Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 10
Kudos: 172





	Show Me The Way

**Author's Note:**

> Another one of the short plots I had in my drafts. Some sentences are taking directly from the movies. This takes place after SW:TCW, after Anakin was Knighted, and during SW:TFA.

Kylo knelt in front of the cherished helmet.

“Forgive me. I feel it again. The pull to the light. Supreme Leader senses it. Show me again, the power of the darkness, and I will let nothing stand in our way. Show me, Grandfather, and I will finish what you started.”

*

Anakin’s eyes snapped open and he flailed, nearly falling on his face. He was only saved from the disgrace by Obi-Wan, who had been meditating beside him – not _with_ him, but besides, his presence grounding even (or especially) in the midst of war.

“Anakin?” his Master- no, former Master- asked, puzzled and slightly worried.

Anakin blinked and settled, his hands trembling. The Force felt strange, twirling, swirling like muddied waters. Slowly, he closed his hands into fists to stop the trembling, and brushed his fingers to his face, almost surprised when he touched his skin. He had been expecting… what had he been expecting?

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan asked again. “Are you alright?”  
“I-”

He startled at his own voice, expecting a deep bass with an almost metallic rasp, and he shook his head. Why would he expect such a thing?

“Anakin, you worry me”, Obi-Wan pushed, his Force presence poking at his as if trying to assess him. Then his expression lit-up in understanding. “Did you have a Vision?”

Anakin looked up, frowning at the young face of his Master, as if he’d expected-

“Y-Yes? No. Maybe? I don’t know, it was really karking weird, Master.”  
“What did you see?”  
“I _saw_ nothing”, Anakin answered, rubbing his scalp, fingers going to tug at his Padawan braid and finding nothing. Right, he’d been Knighted. “I- I heard a voice. It was a man… young, I think. He didn’t make sense.” He rubbed his fingers against his heart, frowning. “It felt like… Like he was speaking to me, specifically. But not me _me_. Another me?”

Obi-Wan’s blue-grey eyes were staring back at him, deep in thought.

“Well, without anything more specific, there isn’t much to do about it. You should put it out of your mind.”  
“I need to move”, Anakin answered, jumping to his feet. “I’d never felt anything like that.”

*

Anakin had almost forgotten about the incident, focused on battles to be won and his battalion to be led through war. One moment, he was slipping thankfully into a deep sleep, and the next, he was standing on a planet that reminded him very unpleasantly of Tatooine. There was the scrambling of someone standing up hurriedly, like when his soldiers did when he stepped into the room and they’d been lounging, and he turned on his heels.

“I’m sorry”, the someone – a young man, with the same voice he’d heard that first time, he recognized it now. “I’m sorry, Grand-Father, it’s _pulling me apart_. I need your guidance.”

Anakin looked around and, seeing as they were alone, he assumed the man was talking to him. Which made no sense. He was nowhere near old enough for children, let alone _grand-children_. He shuddered at the thought, at what it would mean for him, as a Jedi, to have grand-children.

“Where… Where are we?” he finally asked, because it seemed to be the safest thing to ask, and- _wait a minute was that his voice?!_  
“Jakku, Grand-Father.”  
“…Out of all the places, it had to be a desert back-water planet”, he gritted, staring at the karking _sand_. Of all things.

The young man winced, looking down, and Anakin stared at him. There was something… familiar to this man, but he couldn’t say what.

“I’m sorry”, he repeated, “of course, I should have known-”

This time, Anakin snorted.

“How in all Sith hells would you have known? I’ve never seen you in my life!”

This time, the young man looked up, puzzled.

“Because you… hate sand? That’s what Skywalker said, Lord Vader. I assumed he wouldn’t lie about such a thing.”

This time, Anakin froze. What in all-

“Anakin! Anakin WAKE UP!”

The slap was hard, but efficient. Anakin gasped and his eyes flew open, as all the objects that had been floating about in his room fell back to the ground.

“Force you scared the hell out of me!” Obi-Wan said, and he recognized his voice, but not the panicked edge there was to it. “Anakin, look at me. Come back. There, come back.” A pause, his warm, rough, callused palms wrapped around his cheeks, cradling his face. “Good. Come back, dear one. I’m sorry I hit you.”  
“What-” He licked his lips. “What happened?”  
“I don’t know, you tell me”, Obi-Wan answered, flopping down on the bed beside him. “One moment I’m sleeping and the next the Force wakes me up with screeching and I find you so far gone into it I feared I might never get you back.” He breathed out slowly. “Force. _Force_. I thought I was losing you!”  
“I’m-” he blinked. ‘Fine’ didn’t seem appropriate, when he had a hard time focusing his gaze, when everything about his body seemed somehow _wrong_ , when he expected pain and there was _none_. “…I was dreaming. Or having a vision. I don’t know. Can you talk to people through dreams?”

Obi-Wan looked at him, a hint of concern in his expression now that the panic had abated.

“That’s… That’s not how the Force works, Anakin. Though…” He stroked his beard. “Your connection to it is exceptionally strong. That could factor into it.” Slowly, Obi-Wan helped him sit up. “Tell me more.”  
“It was… the voice was the same as the one I heard the other day. I recognized it.” He blinked. “I have no karking idea who that man is, but he seemed to know me. He knew… He knew I hate sand. But at the same time… I wasn’t _me_. My voice wasn’t my own, and he talked to me like I was someone else. Called me-” He shuddered. “Lord Vader? Why would he call me that? And he said that ‘Skywalker’ had told him I hated sand.”

Now Obi-Wan looked even more concerned.

“That’s… That’s a Sith name, Anakin. They call themselves ‘Lord’ or ‘Darth’, along with a chosen moniker. I assume ‘Vader’ would come from ‘Invader’.”

Anakin winced.

“That’s what you chose to focus on?”  
“I’m trying not to panic because I have no karking idea what’s happening”, Obi-Wan replied, his voice strangely distant. He took a deep breath, releasing his emotions into the Force. “Show me?”

Something twisted in his gut, and he shook his head.

“The Force doesn’t want me to”, he said. “This man… he was asking me for my help. For _guidance_.”

Obi-Wan thought for a moment, settling into a light meditation as he pondered over what had just happened.

“Well”, he said after a moment, “if you happen to talk to him again, maybe try to help him? If he’s seeking guidance from a Sith Lord, I’m afraid he’s on a very dangerous path indeed.”

Anakin shuddered at the thought of wilfully asking a Sith for help. You had to be really karking mad to that – he would never fall so down that he would ask _Dooku_ for help.

“I’m not as wise as you, Master”, he replied. “How could I possibly help one who is already a Dark Sider?”

Obi-Wan shrugged.

“I’m not the one who was asked for help, Anakin, and I doubt this was a mistake. If the Force sent this man to you instead of this Lord Vader, then there must be something only you can do to help.”

Anakin frowned, but ultimately nodded.

“Thank you for your advice, Master. I’ll meditate on this.”

Obi-Wan lifted his eyebrows, clearly doubting Anakin would _willingly_ meditate, but said nothing. He wasn’t about to discourage the young Knight if he wanted to do better – especially as meditation seemed a very good idea given the situation.

“Well, I’ll go back to sleep then. Try not to give me a heart attack, Anakin.”

*

This time, it took merely a week before Anakin found himself pulled into one of his strange visions again. Was it because, distraught, he’d heeded his own advice and meditated more? He didn’t know. Maybe. As it was, he’d been practicing his katas while sinking into meditation when it happened. One moment, he was swinging his blade, the next, he was… well, once again aboard a Star Destroyer. Just not at the same place… and the ship was different, now that he looked at it closely. The soldiers milling about, though they apparently couldn’t see him, wore identical white armour that, at first glance, was the same as the clone troopers’… but it really wasn’t. For one, it was definitely of cheaper quality. And there were no markings to differentiate the troopers. It didn’t sit right with him, this uniformity erasing all individuality when the clones fought so hard for it.

“Grand-Father”, the same voice called, and Anakin turned on his heels, his body feeling strange and heavy, _breathing_ painful.

And yet he still took a deep breath. The boy needed help, and Obi-Wan seemed certain there was a reason the Force was calling onto him. He could feel it rolling from the young man, steeped in darkness and yet edged in light. Strong, so very strong… Not as strong as himself, no, but very close. The boy burned like a giant star, familiar and yet unknown. He felt like he _ought_ to know this light, but he didn’t.

“You called for me, young one?” he said, feeling foolish at calling ‘young one’ a man who was about his own age – maybe even a bit older. But, in his defence, the guy was calling him “grand-father” and he felt a little bit insulted.  
“I- Yes, yes I did. I’m conflicted, Grand-Father. I need you to show me the way. The Light is strong again and I-” He gulped, throat bobbing, looking on the verge of breakdown. “I know what I have to do, but not whether I’ll be strong enough to do it.”

And that- Yeah, that struck a chord withing Anakin. He’d felt like this, with Padmé. Knowing he wasn’t allowed these feelings, knowing he had to keep strong so he wouldn’t betray his vows… and ultimately betraying them for the love of his Angel.

“Walk with me”, he said, knowing he couldn’t talk while standing still, even if everything about his body felt stiff, and the boy ran up to him, dark eyes wide and awed as he stared back – the same gaze the younglings had in the creche when he showed them how he reprogrammed mouse-droids. “I understand your struggle”, he said as they started to walk – nearly side by side, but not, the boy walking half a pace behind him. “I endured it too. The path of the Jedi isn’t an easy one.”

The boy nodded.

“Yes, Uncle- _Skywalker_ said as much. But I didn’t think following in your footsteps would be quite this hard.”

This time, Anakin laughed.

“I hardly think many would think of me as someone to imitate.” He turned slightly, and put a hand on the man’s shoulder – heavier than his usual prosthetic and gloved in black. “You are your own person…”  
“Ren. My name is Kylo Ren, Grand-Father.”

Anakin peeked at him curiously.

“No. No it is not, young one. That is not the name in your heart, that is the name another bestowed on you.” He shuddered and bared his teeth when he recognized the feeling. “That is the same name as I had once, when Watto called me ‘boy’.”

‘Ren’ stood frozen, staring back at him, and licked his lips.

“A-And what kind of name is that?”  
“The name of a slave”, Anakin whispered. “Dear one, names are powerful. You should choose wisely which one you give when you introduce yourself to a friend.”

Not everyone called him ‘Ani’. It was a precious nickname. The clones understood the value of names, their power.

“Are you saying”, ‘Ren’ gulped, “that whoever gave me that name enslaved me?”  
“In a manner of speaking”, Anakin replied. “They gave you a name to fit their purpose, not one that fit who you are.”  
“I don’t like the name that was given to me as a child”, ‘Ren’ scowled. “It was the name of an old fool. I would rather have been named after you, Grand-Father.”

Anakin tilted his head.

“My name is its own weight to be borne. You have your own burden to bear.”

‘Ren’s scowl deepened.

“Fine. You may call me Ben, then, Grand-Father.”  
“Ben”, Anakin repeated with a nod. “Tell me, Ben, why would you want to be like me?”

Not that Anakin wasn’t awesome, but he was far from being a perfect Jedi.

“I am your heir, Grand-Father. You were… You were the Emperor’s right hand, the most feared man in the Empire. You are a legendary Sith, Grand-Father. Your mastery of the Dark Side is awe-inspiring.”

Anakin resisted the urge to squirm uncomfortably. Right, Ben thought he was this Lord Vader and a Sith. Blast it. He knew what laid with the Dark Side – had tasted it ash and rot when he slaughtered the Tuskens. There was nothing but rage and pain there.

“And do you really think the price to pay makes the Dark Side worth it?”

Ben frowned.

“What do you mean?”

Anakin froze and, without his bidding, his mouth opened, something – some _one_ other speaking through his lips, leaving him the unwilling spectator.

“Did Skywalker never tell you what I lost for the power of the Dark Side?”  
“I- I- No, not really”, Ben admitted shamefully. “He only ever talked of your days as a Jedi.”

Anakin felt himself freeze. Lord Vader had been a Jedi before he was a Sith? Could Dooku have changed his name from Tyrannus to Vader and have children and grand-children? It would make sense. Nothing else really did. Not with someone named Skywalker in the boy’s proximity.

Whoever – probably the so-called Lord Vader, now that he thought about it – was talking through him resumed the conversation.

“I lost everything I wanted to protect, everything I’d sworn my life to. I lost the wife I’d loved from the moment I set my eyes on her. I lost the Master who had raised me from childhood and was both a father and a brother to me. I lost the Republic I’d sworn to defend, the Jedi I’d called family. I lost the ones I fought besides and once called ‘brothers’. I lost everything that made me who I was to become a shade of myself. Make no mistake, Ben. ‘Vader’ was never anything else than the name of a slave. It is not a desirable fate.”

Anakin would have screamed and probably thrown up if he’d been in control of his own body. The presence felt chilling and familiar, but even more so were the words falling from his mouth. Ben had never made any mistake: he really was talking to his Grand-Father. He really was talking to Lord Vader.

Anakin felt gutted, like he was shattering in a million pieces.

Ben seemed just as shaken, his fists clenched by his sides.

“Then, why would you follow this path?”  
“Because in choosing to trust the one who wanted my power over the one who had only ever wished for my happiness, I closed my eyes to all the other paths that laid before me. Be careful who you trust, Ben. It will be either your damning or your salvation.”

Ben looked even more confused now.

“What should I do, then?”  
“You may have been named after an old fool”, Vader replied with a smirk, “but he once was my Master and one I loved more than anything else besides my wife”, Anakin resumed, his voice shaking. “I’m sure there are people out there who love you and are ready to help. Do not repeat my mistakes.”

His vision blurred, and everything seemed to shift as he fell out of the vision, his lightsabre falling from his hands as he collapsed to his knees – screaming.

*

“I know what I have to do, but I don't know if I have the strength to do it. Will you help me?”, Ben whispered, his hands shaking.  
“Yes. Anything”, his father replied, and for the first time since he last saw him, Ben felt Han’s love wash over him. Heard the echo of his mother’s words in the Force. _Bring him back home_.

He gave his lightsabre to his father, and slowly took his hands off of it.

“Get rid of this. I want to go home, dad.”

Han lost no time flinging the damned thing over the railing, holding Ben close.

“Of course, son. Come on. Let’s go home. Let’s go home.”

_Thank you, Grand-Father, for showing me the way._

*

Obi-Wan felt the bond open suddenly and feelings – a turmoil, nothing that made sense – flooding into it and leaving him gasping.

“Anakin”, he breathed.

A second later, his comm was beeping.

“Captain Rex?”  
“It’s General Skywalker, sir”, the clone replied, looking distraught. “He just… fell to his knees screaming in the training halls.”  
“I’m coming”, Obi-Wan replied, running through the ship.

He found Anakin as Rex had said – down on his knees and leaking conflicted emotions into the Force, his mouth open on an endless scream, full of pain and horror, and for a second, his heart stopped.

He knelt beside his Padawan – a Knight, but he would always be his Padawan, no matter what – and pulled him in close, threading his fingers through his quickly growing hair and letting him bury his face against his shoulder.

“I’m here, dear one. Breathe. You are safe, Anakin. You are safe. I’m here.”

He felt Anakin’s fingers clutch his tunics, the metallic fingers cold even through the fabric, the flesh ones trying to dig into the skin of his back. Anakin’s scream turned into heart-wrenching sobs, and then into whimpers, his Force-presence frazzled as the flooding of their bond trickled to a lazy stream, full of shame and remorse.

“Did you have another vision?”

Anakin nodded.

“I talked to the boy again”, he whispered. “He was named after you, you know? They actually named him _Ben_.”

Obi-Wan was confused, but he nodded anyway. Anakin had yet to relax his grip on him. The young man let out a sobbing laughter.

“Force, my children named him after _you_.” He paused, took a breath. “It was no mistake from the Force that I was the one talking to him when he called for his grand-father, Master.”

Obi-Wan almost froze.

“Didn’t you say the boy thought he was talking to a Sith Lord?”  
“He was”, Anakin replied. “ _Force_ , Master. _He was_. I Fell. I Fell because I trusted another rather than you”, he choked. “I can’t, I can’t, I’d rather die than become this… this _monstrous thing_ ”, he snarled, choking again on his words. “Help me, Master. Please.”  
“Yes”, Obi-Wan whispered, holding him tighter, trying and still failing to hide all of his Padawan in the crook of his body. “Anything.”

His words an echo of another one’s – the same love bursting in their veins.

*

Anakin sank into meditation easily. It had saved him, had saved the universe. He wouldn’t complain about it again.

“You have found peace, it seems”, the boy said – but he no longer was a boy, he was a man in his mid-thirties.  
“So have you.”

He nodded and smiled at the three children tumbling a bit farther through the grass of some world or another. Ben followed his gaze and smiled.

“Now I understand what my father meant, when he said ‘anything’.”

Anakin chuckled.

“I’m glad, then. I believe this is farewell.”  
“Never, Grand-Father. ‘Death, yet the Force’. We will meet each other again.”  
“See you there, then, Ben”, Anakin replied, just as a voice called “Anakin, Padmé, Ashoka, come home now! Ben, you too!”

Ben turned and disappeared, and Anakin opened his eyes. The lakes of Varykino were glinting under the sun, the breeze raising goosebumps on his skin – only because he was sitting in the shade.

“Got you!” he heard Obi-Wan laugh, followed by children laughter, and he turned his head.

Obi-Wan tumbled into the grass, fallen by the might of five years old Luke and Leia, who were very proud of themselves, Padmé hiding her laughter behind her hand at the scene. Satine was lounging beside her, a hand resting on her rounded stomach. Farther still, he could hear Rex, Cody and Ashoka – the Jedi padawan Master Plo had raised to Knighthood and who had become akin to his sister - splashing around in the water, laughing and brawling without a care in the world.

There, bathed in the love of his family – larger than he ever thought it would be – Anakin finally found the peace that had eluded him for so long. The Order had been changing, and there was no doubt that within months, Obi-Wan and him would officially be Jedi again. Master Yoda had already made clear that he was claiming Luke as his Padawan. Leia’s stand-off with Master Windu promised an interesting apprenticeship for his little girl.

The future had never looked so bright.

**Author's Note:**

> As usual I hope you liked it!


End file.
